My two cents on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is special for my family.
Exactly 21 years ago, a plane carrying my parents, my brother and me touched down in New York. It was en route from Italy, where it had picked up immigrant passengers eagerly awaiting to begin their new lives in America.
My family came to America from the former Soviet Union. We were among the first wave of people to leave the country in 1986 after the government promised to be more lenient toward immigration.
Every year we gather around the dinner table to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, caviar, herring and lox.
What, you don’t eat caviar, herring and lox during Thanksgiving?
Well, let me assure you it was not until I started dating Dave, who is now my husband, that I realized our Thanksgiving was a bit unusual.
Russians consider sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and stuffing strange foods. (It is an acquired taste, they say) My mother only started making gravy after endless begging from my American-born brother.
Then there’s the turkey.
I distinctly remember the interesting expression on my future husband’s face the first time he joined us for Thanksgiving dinner.
What does your mother use to marinade the turkey, he asked.
Ketchup and mayonnaise, I replied.
And that was before my mother began hacking away at the turkey, to use my husband’s term.
See, at our house the turkey isn’t carried out on a special tray for the man of the house to carve.
My mother takes her favorite kitchen knife and hacks at the legs, wings and breasts, contouring them into unrecognizable pieces of meat. This happens while my relatives push their plates toward her for pieces of the turkey.
One year, even that didn’t happen.
My mother decided to cook the turkey in an oven bag. She must have overcooked it because when she slit the bag open the turkey collapsed.
This is a snippet of a conversation I had with her that year.
“Mom, can I have a wing please?” I asked.
She pointed to the turkey, which she left in the kitchen, and replied: “If you can find it it’s yours.” I tried to navigate a fork in the soupy mess, but abandoned the plan and opted to eat a drumstick that year.
It’s no better at friends’ houses.
Two years ago my parents’ friends invited us to their home for Thanksgiving.
The hostess, with the help of a female guest, carried the turkey to the dining room and announced: Everyone, look at how nice the turkey is. Now I am going to take it to the kitchen and carve it.
No presentation and no special carving skills required. I heard the buzzing of an electric knife for a few minutes and then magically a plate of meat, which looked nothing like the neat pieces of turkey servings shown in Thanksgiving photos, appeared at the table.
As my husband says, Thanksgiving with the Russian mishpuha (crew) is wild for a WASP from New England.
For the above mentioned reasons I don’t consider myself an expert on Thanksgiving cooking, etiquette and traditions.
At the same time, I can’t resist the urge to offer some advice on making this year’s event successful. After all, I usually contribute cranberry sauce ( http://tiny.cc/cranberrysauce ) to my family's feast. So maybe that qualifies me as someone who's mildly knowledgeable about the holiday.
Parties can be very stressful at a time when food is expensive and people are trying not to spend unnecessarily. And if there's one thing Russians know a thing or two about, it's the art of saving money.
Here is a compilation of tips I use to make my holiday festivities fun and thrifty.

1. Vary the appetizers. If you’ve been serving pigs in a blanket, shrimp cocktail and mini-quiche for years perhaps it is time to change the offerings. Make apricot chutney on toast, hummus, various olives and cheese and crackers for guests. These are often less expensive, but do require more work because you’ll need to make everything from scratch.

2. Divide the work. This year my mother is hosting Thanksgiving but she has asked close guests to bring dishes to share. One of her friends offered to bring khatchapuri, a Georgian cheese-bread. Last year when I hosted Thanksgiving I wasn’t shy in asking my friend to bring dessert. We feasted on a homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

3. If you have 20 guests coming, cook for 20 people not 40. This is a mistake many hosts fall prey to. I admit I often break this rule. Don’t worry that your guests will leave hungry, they won’t! Buy the right size turkey and go easy on the sides.

4. Incorporate a dish you love to cook into your meal. My mother loves to make matzo ball soup. Even though that is not a traditional Thanksgiving dish the guests always eat it and compliment her. When I hosted Thanksgiving I made a crab meat salad. My husband teased me because it wasn’t a traditional salad, but I had the last laugh because the guests loved it. Click here (http://tiny.cc/crabsalad ) for the recipe.

5. Don’t be afraid to start a new tradition at your house. If your parents always make cheddar mashed potatoes but you don’t like cheese, then make garlic mashed potatoes. Since you are gracious enough to invite everyone into your home you should feel free to vary the menu to your preference.

6. Utilize the leftovers. Freeze that turkey carcass. Make a turkey and raisin salad and bake leftover bread into croutons. I’ll post plenty of leftover ideas on Momentous Occasions by Natasha.

7. Don’t forget to buy turkey after Thanksgiving. That’s right. Usually grocery stores take leftover turkeys, cut them and sell them in smaller portions. Since there’s usually a plethora of extra turkey they mark down prices too. You can buy thighs, wings, drumsticks or turkey breast and freeze it for a time when your family starts to crave turkey again.